This learner didn't learn a thing.

Calibos

For the record, I have no problem with learners making mistakes. We've all been there. We've all pulled out without looking properly at least once only to hear the beep of a horn or screaching breaks. We sheepishly appologised and watched the driver of the other car we'd just scared sh1tless, drive off shaking his/her head with gritted teeth no doubt muttering expletives about effing learner drivers. We've all done it.

What I hate though is someone who quite obviously is too stupid to even realise they have made a mistake. If you don't realise or accept that you have made a mistake you cannot learn from it.

Case in point being today. I am driving along at 20mph about to pass a side road on the left as I see a learner with L plates waiting to pull out onto the main road. I am driving at 20mph approaching this side road and learner as I was always told to assume that every other driver on the road is a moron and to be prepared for all manner of stupidity. Just as I am about to pass the side road the woman pulls out right in front of me! She is turning right. Now if you are turning right you need to look left and right whereas if you were turning left you need only check to your right. (obviously you would still check left incase someone was overtaking and had crossed into your left lane but you would defo concentrate on traffic coming from the right)

So anyway this woman learner is turning right but not once did I see her check right. She was looking left the whole time as I approached the junction and continued to look left as she pulled out. I screeched to a halt to be greeted by the sight of this woman moving her hand in a kind of patting motion and my lip reading skills indicated that she was saying "Slow Down"!!!!! So it appears this lady read the bit in the rules of the road about a patting hand motion being a hand signal for I'm slowing down. She realised that she could use this signal to tell me that i should have slowed down ie very clever of her. Unfortunately she wasn't clever enough to read the bit in the rules of the road about looking before you pull out!!

Ok missus, I can only assume that what was running through your head was, 'he's young looking and driving a brand new sporty lookin' car (A3 2.0L TDI just in case you lot thought I was a baseball cap wearing maxpower punto owner), he must have been speeding, wasn't my fault so'.....or.......'his tyres screeched when he stopped, he must have been speeding, twasn't my fault so....'

Er no. The reason my tyres screeched missus is that despite only going 20mph the car still had to stop in the space of about 3 feet because some stupid bint pulled out RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM without looking.

TBH if I hadn't of seen 2 kids in the back of her car I would have stopped and gone over for a 'chat' but I didn't want to scare the kids. This wouldn't have been a road rage kind of thing, I would merely have told her that infact it was her stupidity that nearly caused an accident rather than me 'speeding' at 20mph. As it was, the incident annoyed me more then it would have otherwise. ie if she looked upset and appologetic I probably would have stopped anyway, gone over and told her it was OK, that we all make mistakes etc and not to worry about it but to be more careful in the future. If she did not appear to be upset but looked appologetic I would have acknowledged her appologetic gesture and then continued on my way. Either way I would have forgotten about the incident already.

.......But seeing as the stupid cow probably went home to tell her husband that this speeder nearly crashed into her today, and the fact that I didn't 'put her straight' means the incident is still annoying me hours later.

Arrrggghhhh. I don't think that learner learnt anything today. Wonder will she have learnt anything by the time she's on her 9th provisional! :rolleyes:

Just wanted to get that off my chest

Merrion

It makes no sense that people on L plates can drive without a qualified driver in the passenger seat. Never understood that at all.

unkel

Originally posted by Merrion
It makes no sense that people on L plates can drive without a qualified driver in the passenger seat. Never understood that at all.

It makes no sense that people have L-plates on their car. People that are not fully qualified to drive, should only drive with a fully qualified instructor, in the instructor's vehicle that is equipped with full double control pedals

trotter_inc

It makes no sense that people have L-plates on their car. People that are not fully qualified to drive, should only drive with a fully qualified instructor,

You dont need a piece of paper to be a good driver - just because you have a provisional doesnt mean you're a bad driver!!

You cant expect provisional drivers to drive only when they have someone in the car with them for over year while waiting to do their full licence test.

The gardai know this so they dont bother enforcing it - they know damn well that there are thousands of provisional drivers who drive on their own.

No-one can say that these are "bad" drivers just because they have a provisional!!

I know plenty of full licenced drivers who are terrible drivers, Im not saying that all provisional drivers are good either tho

Stark

It's also perfectly legal to drive on your own when you're on your second provisional licence.

seamus

Originally posted by trotter_inc
You cant expect provisional drivers to drive only when they have someone in the car with them for over year while waiting to do their full licence test.

Yeah you can. The idea behind the licensing system is sound. It's just a combination of non-enforcement, unfeasibility and the general dishonesty of the Irish people stop it from working. I've gone through what I thought it should be too many times here, so I'm not saying it again

Basically, people complain "What are provisional drivers supposed to do when there's no fully qualified driver around?". Well, that's simple. Do what they did before they even started driving - i.e. get a bus, cycle, walk, etc.
There's no reason why a provisional driver absolutely *must* drive the car on their own. You can come up with all sorts of hypothetical situations, such as people who have just moved to the country, or have got a new job. But at the end of the day, if it was ingrained into the Irish psyche that you cannot drive without a qualified driver, then people would find alternate solutions to their situation, instead of using their situation as an excuse for breaking the law.

Don't get me wrong. I sympathise. I too drove the 9 months until I got a full licence, unaccompanied, but I acknowledge that was completely wrong, and put in the same situation again, knowing what I know now (say I got a truck provisional), I wouldn't drive unaccompanied.

The gardai know this so they dont bother enforcing it - they know damn well that there are thousands of provisional drivers who drive on their own.

Well, they do bother, but the second provisional means that if they randomly pull over a Learner, there's a good chance they'll be driving legally anyway. Learners down the country have recently been receiving 6 month bans for driving unaccompanied.

No-one can say that these are "bad" drivers just because they have a provisional!!

Agreed. But it hasn't been proven that they are capable of passing a simple competency test (whether they've taken the test or not), so prudence dictates that one must assume the driver may not be up to scratch, in order to err on the side of safety.

I know plenty of full licenced drivers who are terrible drivers, Im not saying that all provisional drivers are good either tho

Yep.

JohnnyBravo

if your a provesionally license driver and you pay in excess of 2 grand to get insured theres no way in hell your going to get the bus if you have just insured your car
its madness

Evil Phil

If there was a 2 month turn around on driving tests then it would be easier to stop learners driving on there own. I'm on my second year provisional and have paid through the nose for a years insurance while I wait for my test (49 weeks minimum in my case). Theres no way in hell I'm not driving my car when I've spent that kind of money. 2 months insurance would be expensive but managable a whole year is far to much.

TommyK

Originally posted by trotter_inc
No-one can say that these are "bad" drivers just because they have a provisional!!

Maybe not on a first provisional but on a second or subsequent one, you *can* say they're bad drivers.

After your first ***2 year*** provisional, the argument for waiting times is null and, if you can pass a test then, you shouldn't be on the road at all!

(The test isn't that hard, ye know!)

Tommy.

BaZmO*

Originally posted by Stark
It's also perfectly legal to drive on your own when you're on your second provisional licence.

Not anymore! They changed that at the start of 2003 I think.

As the law stands at the moment, anybody driving on any provisional licence be it first, second, third or whatever, has to have a fully qualified driver in the passenger seat.

B.

seamus

Originally posted by BaZmO*
Not anymore! They changed that at the start of 2003 I think.

As the law stands at the moment, anybody driving on any provisional licence be it first, second, third or whatever, has to have a fully qualified driver in the passenger seat.

Nope. The law hasn't changed. Second provisionals are still allowed drive unaccompanied.

Stark

Nope, it's legal when you're on your 2nd. Double-checked this on Oasis: http://www.oasis.gov.ie/transport/motoring/provisional_driving_licence.html

Car drivers (category with a provisional licence must be accompanied at all times by, and under the supervision of, a person with a current full driving licence to drive a car. (The only exception to this, is where the driver holds a second provisonal driving licence to drive a car).

The change in law on 1st January 2003 refers to carrying of licence at all times:

From 1st January 2003 you are required to carry your licence with you at all times when driving in Ireland.

JohnnyBravo

If you want to speed up your test get a letter from your company saying you need it before a certain date and bamo youl get it before the date

Stephen

bzzt, wrong.

its still legal to drive unaccompanied on a 2nd provisional.

edit: heh, that's a lot of posts in the couple of minutes i left this page open.

Calibos

.......and not one post consoling me for being accused of speeding by a dimwit that didn't even realise she was in the wrong, never mind appologise for nearly causing an accident :D :rolleyes:

Stark

I sent the little dude with the violin in a package through the post to you.Hope he's still breathing when he gets to you.

Calibos

Cheers stark. I knew someone cared

BrianD3

Yeah, she probably went home and told her hubbie that some crazy young lad in a flash car nearly wiped her out :rolleyes: PS did she have a "baby on board" sticker on the car by any chance? :rolleyes:

Anyhow, next time she pulls out in front of a "speeding" vehicle, it may be a mobile crane or a 40 ton artic loaded with blocks. Lesson learned - the hard way.

BrianD3

impr0v

in your position i would been unable to help myself and would have spun around, chased her and taught her a lesson with the tyre iron. and i wouldn't worry about the kids because if they watch this twisted junction etiquette long enough they'll start to think it's perfectly normal and considerate behaviour, and before you know it they have their own provisional licence to endanger and the cycle continues, it's best they learn the necessary lessons early.

even ignoring the whole provisional debate there are so many people on the roads who haven't a notion how to use them correctly, and to compound the problem they don't even know that there is anything wrong with their driving.

i think some sort of vigilante traffic corps should be established, their responsibility being to educate the idiots through the medium of baseball bat applied to bodywork. the only problem with it would be that any average journey for the vigilante volunteer would take hours longer given how often he'd have to stop to dole out corrective damage.

NOTE TO IMPROV - It is not recommeded you beat ppl with tyre irons or anything else. You talk about etiquette well I'd be more worried about the result of your mentality than hers.

Moderate your tone and consider this a written warning.


Mike.

duridian

Another feature of stupid drivers is cutting the corner when turning right into a side road, thereby entering the lane that traffic emerging from the side road is using. I have seen this result in an accident a few times now and all because some a$$hole who was too lazy to take a proper right turn clipped a car that was doing nothing wrong just pulling up at the line to wait and enter the main road. I've even seen a garda car do this without need ie. just cruising along on patrol, not in pursuit. The amount of stupid f***ers out there that do this is uncanny, none of them should be on the road.

ChipZilla

Originally posted by BrianD3
PS did she have a "baby on board" sticker on the car by any chance? :rolleyes:

Or even worse, a "babe on board" sticker?:rolleyes: